Moving Pictures

It’s no secret that the fantasy genre is a ripe field in which to free-farm allegorical stories commenting on reality. Orwell’s Animal Farm is probably the most recognisable example, but many authors have traversed the terrain including Philip K. Dick and even Dr. Seuss. Simultaneously, it’s a great genre in which to parody and satirise reality, as in Moving Pictures. 

Written by Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures tells the story of Victor, a wizarding student who can’t sing, can’t dance, but can handle a sword a little, who one night strangely and unexplainably finds himself in Holly Wood trying to get into moving pictures. Along with Theda Withel who comes from a little town you’ve probably never heard of, and a talking dog named Gaspode, Victor sets out to find an answer to the strange effect Holly Wood has on people: is it just alchemy, magic, or something worse? 

I have a deep love for movies, the cinema, and the romanticism of 1920s onwards Hollywood so, rightly so, this book was recommended to me. From the very blurb, the obvious references to Fred Astaire and Marilyn Monroe had me giggling and interested. But I have to say that the skin-deep novelty of the parody and the allusions to Hollywood icons and canonical movies was as far as my intrigue went. Perhaps it’s because I never read any Pratchett as a young reader, but I just found the entire book a little shallow and uninspiring. 

An easy read to be sure, but one that didn’t have me sparking any liking for any of the characters and thus, not really hankering to know how their adventures panned out. 

To be fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. At all. It’s got a mysterious yet compelling quest narrative, a bunch of memorable and likeable characters, a fun and indeed reflective of the cinematic Golden Age backdrop, and a strongly, clever, and humorous tone. 

I reiterate that I did enjoy the parody of the Hollywood world: the stories and characters were quite funny in what they alluded to and all the other references from dwarves singing ‘Heigh Ho’ to The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, and eventually King Kong were received well. But I feel that there was no depth happening or real complexity, which made it feel like I was just reading a children/young adult’s book packed with references the intended readership wouldn’t get. 

I liked this book well enough; it’s fresh and funny, it does have wit and a fun fantasy element, but ultimately I found it a shallow read: an easy time-filler, but not one in which you’re transported anywhere.

Author: Terry Pratchett

Published: 1990